1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a mother substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus and a method of manufacturing same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In an LCD apparatus, liquid crystal may be disposed between a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate and a color filter substrate. The color filter substrate may be manufactured using different processes from those of the TFT substrate.
The liquid crystal can be subject to an electric field formed between the color filter substrate and the TFT substrate. Upon application of the electric field, the liquid crystal molecules change their orientation and light passing through the liquid crystal is polarized. Appropriately positioned filters may filter the polarized light, creating areas that represent desired images.
The TFT substrate is spaced apart from the color filter substrate by a distance referred to as a cell gap so as to receive the liquid crystal therebetween. The cell gap can depend on intrinsic characteristics of the liquid crystal and may be several micrometers. For example, for a twisted nematic (TN) mode liquid crystal display apparatus, the cell gap may be about 4.6 μm.
In order to maintain the cell gap, spacers and sealants may be formed between the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate. For example, a spacer and a sealant may be formed on each cell of a color filter mother substrate or a TFT mother substrate.
When the spacers and sealants are formed only on the cells of the color filter or TFT mother substrates, the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate may not have a uniform cell gap.
In order to maintain uniformity of the cell gap, spacers and sealants may also be formed in dummy regions of the TFT or color filter substrates. A dummy region is a region between the cells of the color filter mother substrate or a region between the cells of the TFT mother substrate. The dummy region may be defined by cutting lines.
The location of a sealant(s) may be changed during the manufacturing process of an LCD so as to optimize the uniformity of the cell gap. However, when the location of a sealant is changed, the locations of the spacers are also changed, whereby a pattern of the spacers is determined in accordance with a pattern of the sealant. As a result, a new mask for the spacers as well as a new mask for the sealant is required. Therefore, manufacturing cost is increased, while productivity is decreased.